Journalist recalls the Sunshine Coast hunt for Prince Harry

I REMEMBER the fuss in 2003 when Prince Harry was reported to be on the Coast and staying in Noosa.

The assignment for the week? Find him.

After discussing a raft of excellent tips from our "deep throat”, first port of call that day was a Sunshine Beach home belonging to a prominent Australian business establishment family.

With at least one knight and one dame in their lineage, how could they have possibly refused a request to shelter the young prince?

We barely got within 50m of the front door before a rugger scrum of security types descended. They'd been scoping Harry's haunt from a house on the high side of the quiet, beachside road.

Prince Harry and fiancee Meghan Markle - 15 years and a lifetime since the young prince's visit to Sunshine Beach.FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

A van bristling with cameras was monitoring the street also. Harry apparently wasn't taking visits from local hacks that day.

Shortly after exchanging details, a call came through from a Buckingham Palace media advisor, a former Sunshine Coast Daily journalist, dusted off for her "local influence”, who requested we respect the prince's privacy in return for a promised scoop a few days later, which of course was never going to happen.

After filing the story of the day's excitement, the photographer and I thought we might see Harry during an early morning swim out the front the following day.

Not wanting to spook the spooks, I fronted at 6am dressed in beach fishing gear, rigged for tailor with a 14 foot beach rod, Alvey side-caster, six kilo line, gang-hooks and pilchards with tape recorder and camera in my fishing bag.

I'd jagged a flathead and a few dart from a nice gutter right in front of Harry's hideaway before our photographer rocked up in full work gear.